Gentlemen,

I've been concerned with what I've been reading regarding the perceived underwhelming capacity of melee classes. And so, here's some ideas how to improve your own, because melee classes rock when done right. I'm talking, Metallica, or Gwar kind of rock--not Justin Bieber rock.


In no special order..




1. Shields: More Than Just Bug Blockers!

Make SURE you use your shield on the anvil to improve the blocking percentage. Once that's up, a few points into shield skill, and you're, minimum, blocking 35-50%. Now add elemental essences, all 4. The % will increase as you level. Kapish? good.

2. How do you Spella-mi-fy...Diversify?

Spells. You must use spells. Get ahold of yourself man!

Invest 1 point into Witchcraft, 1 into Scoundrel. And guys, lets face it--we're *guys*, we're BORN with 1 point into Scoundrel.

It's pretty simple--you really don't need much more than this.
Tank Spell 1: Fast Track: Haste, for melee! wee!
Tank Spell 2: Oath of Destruction (50% more damage! Hulk smash!)
Tank Spell 3: Cloak and Dagger (oh, look, you're teleporting around Matrix style!) (later on, Phoenix Dive..)
Tank Spell 4: Charming Touch. (scoundrel)--oh look at that, he doesn't want to punch you any more!
Tank Spell 5: Blind: Ohhh that's right, 100% hit rate, wassup now 4 eyes!

3. Resist the Force Luke!

You basically need 100% resistance to ALL things. Minimum. You heard me. This is actually pretty easily done. You'll need as many elemental essences as you can find. Buy every one you ever see. Don't look at me like that.

Now, with those essences, add them to armor. Add them to your 1. Shield (4x) 2. Chest Amor (4x) 3. Bracers (4x) 4. Sarong (4x) and 5. Belt (4x). The effect will scale with the level of the item. By FAR, the most important resistance is fire.

You will HEAL with resistances over 100%. That means, standing in lava, you are invincible, like Michael Jackson. #crotch grab!

4. We Need a Tank! Stat!

Stats: You don't need a lot of Str. Just enough to equip your gear. Constitution and Speed are the primary attributes for you. Constitution will give you tons of action points (way over 20), and Speed will make sure that each turn, you get that 20. Perception: forget about it. Intelligence: Way more important than it seems. Get it to 7-8 and you can equip a higher level Sarong, which then adds lots more resistances (and further intelligence). Try to balance speed and constitution, but constitution is the most important. Think about the US constitution, pretty important right? That important.

5. Craft Your Own Macaroni!

You really don't need much crafted gear. But some are noteworthy: Sword of planets. Every level, make a new one. It's the only weapon with elemental resistances (not just a little, but a ton). Most importantly with crafting and your tank: Make sure all your armor gets 1. put on the anvil to remove the movement penalty. And 2. Add Plate scraps to increase the armor rating.

Make sure for any weapon you use regularly, add a Tormented Soul +2str, +2 dex. You the man now dawg!

Lastly, add some paint-on glitter to your shield, tell people it's Gucci. It's got a stunning effect.

6. We've Got to Moove it Moove it!

Movement bonus is highly underrated! I didn't realize this until later in the game. I can move 6 meters with 1 action point. That means I'm like the Terminator chasing cars in the movie. I try to make sure I put on this glare that says "I'm a lunatic" when I do. Count how many action points you lose because of movement--it's probably worth 6 attacks in any given fight. So, movement translates to damage. hhmmm....never thought about that 'eh? Look for shields and armor with movement bonuses. Rings can provide great boosts as well.

7. Maad Skillz!
Let's talk about skills. Now go to your significant other, and tell them "If I had a star for every time you brightened my day, why, ..I'd have a galaxy in my hand."

Ok, back to skills: The only "5" you want, is Man at Arms. Then you get the talent "Weather the Storm". The rest? meh! Most importantly, you'll be FAR FAR more effective in getting many skills to 3 than one skill to 5. So body building and Willpower--get those to 1 1, then 2 2, then 3 3. Do NOT get any skill to 5 (except Man at Arms) until later on. Most of the equipment you have will improve most of those skills by 1 or 2.

Leadership ROCKS, and you'll need two characters with it. Get it to 3--and your damage, critical hit, chance to hit--goes WAY up. Armor Specialist: not that important, low priority. With blocking rates at 80%, if you get hit for 10 more damage, and you have 3000hp--the points could be better spent elsewhere.

Don't race to get 5 points into anything, or 4 even (except for man at arms).

8. I'm hitt'n on 'em, But no Results!

I know, you're a player--you've got mad skillz--but sometimes 'no money, no funny hunny!'. That's life. Sooo... I've seen people complaining that they're trying, but they can't hit their target. Here's the deal: "Trying" is loser talk. A respectable tank gets results. So let's talk results.

1. Blind: 100% hit rate. (blind is rarely resisted)
2. Knocked down: 100% hit rate.
3. Lower Resistances: Much easier to hit.
4. Precision Stance: major boost to improve your hit rate.

You really don't need more than that. You funny now!

9. Lethal Weapons!

Alright--so, you have the 2h vs 1h argument. Let's end this argument: 1h+ shield is the answer. 3ap single handed weapons. Now, add Tenebrium, or earlier on, Fire. Many weapons you can add several effects (say, fire + poison). Make sure to sharpen the weapon to increase the damage (always), (weapons with edges, not a hammer, duh, never sharpen a hammer). Don't forget about big strong 2h though. Carry one, and before you use flurry 1. Equip 2h weapon. 2. Oath of destruction. 3. Lower their resistances. 4. Hulk Smash. You will annihilate them.



Okay, so you've got 9 items there. With those 9 items, your tank will be a super hero, you'll survive basically everything, and the ladies will throw themselves at you. But they won't hit you, because you've got a shield. That's right, who's yo daddy!

Amen.


Any questions, feel free!